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Friday, April 15, 2016

Fun Ideas for Teaching Colors

Fun Ideas
for Teaching Colors

Hi, thanks for
stopping by! Today I’m going to share some fun ideas and a song to help young children
learn the colors in Spanish!

Music is an
important part in helping kids to learn; that’s why I’m always looking for a
tune or song that goes with whatever subject I’m teaching. Using familiar tunes
is a fun and great way to introduce any subject you are teaching. Kids will
learn it faster since it’s a tune they are already familiar with. In my
previous post I shared how I use a well know tune by kids to teach and
reinforce the days of the weeks in Spanish while reviewing emotions in Spanish.
Today I will share another well known tune by kids to teach and reinforce
colors while learning a new sentence involving the subject they are learning.
The tune I use for the colors is: “If you’re happy and you know it.

My students have already
learned their colors well. I’m so proud of them! So I started to introduce one
way they can use the colors they have learned in Spanish in a short sentence.
They are learning how to say what their favorite color is. (Mi color favorito
es…) so we sit in a circle and we go over the colors and I will instruct them
to listen as I point to each color and say slowly: “mi color favorito es azul,
mi color favorito es rojo…and so on. After I will ask someone: “¿cuál es tu
color favorito?” and of course I will help them. As usual they catch on to it
so quickly! At first their pronunciation will not be perfect but don’t worry,
as the activity is done over and over again they will get it right. Another
reason I like incorporating music with language it’s because I noticed how it
helps students with the proper pronunciation.

So the tune I use
goes well for this little activity.

Here is what I do:

Have children sit in
a circle. Put the color cards in the middle. Any color cards will work but if
you like the ones I use shown in the picture above you can access them for Free HereJ

Teacher ask: ¿Cuál es tu color favorito?

Student respond by
singing to the familiar tune of if you’re happy and you know it.

So you keep going
until each child has the opportunity to say what their favorite color is. At first, help students sing the song slowly. After children are familiar with words and pronunciation, it can be sung faster. Another reason I like using this particular tune is because of the opportunity for repetition within the tune itself.

This activity/song
is appropriate for ages 4 up to 9.

Another activity we
do with these little color cards is to have students point to the color you
call out. You can also embrace the opportunity to introduce: “Dónde está…”
(where is…)

Here are two short videos with examples:

Another activity you
can do is have students match the colors with the words. They love doing this!
This is the time they get to work collaboratively to find and match the word
with the color. It’s great as a literacy activity!

You can access these
cards and words here for Free. There is also a bonus page included!

Hope these ideas
were helpful! Your comments and feedback are appreciated.

If you are looking
for additional material to teach colors, you may like:

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About Me

I have been teaching and working
with children as young as two years old and up for many years. Understanding
that real learning takes place when kids are having fun and actively
participating, I am continually developing ways, games and strategies to encourage
and motivate my students in order to maximize their learning experiences.

I currently teach Spanish and
Music to children
at several Day Cares in Chicago.

I am the creator of Music and
Spanish Fun for Kids.

I am a classically trained pianist.
I am also a composer and arranger. Most of the songs used in the Spanish Fun for
Kids program are my compositions and others my arrangements.